Editorial: Great theatre - and place where sport and politics should mix

Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui is thrown in the air by players after the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Morocco and Portugal, at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Photo / AP

Opinion

EDITORIAL:

It was perhaps inevitabile that once the action started at Qatar’s World Cup, the controversy about Doha hosting the tournament would fade.

The hosts promised to deliver a great tournament and anyone willing to turn a blind eye to the deaths of untold migrant workers, would probably acknowledge they did it.

In many regards this has been the best ever football World Cup. The standard of play on the field has been exceptional, with the skills on show broadly surpassing those of previous years. Football players today are better than ever, and it’s the vast amounts of money pumping into top-flight clubs that sports fans have to thank.

While there have always been youth academies and scouting systems in this most professional of codes, those institutions are now running on such industrial scales and with levels of commerce-inspired efficiency that the end product - the footballers we see and cheer for - are performing at skill levels that once would have been unattainable for all but the rarest few.

There are unheralded midfielders in today’s Morocco side who would have rivalled the world’s best for ball control, passing and vision at Italia ‘90.

There will always be freaks and standouts, those whose stars blaze even brighter. The brightest pair at this tournament are Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe - both blessed with uncanny skills and both refined by the club academies and institutions for whom they serve. The Argentine Messi was 13 when Barcelona got their hands on him.

Alongside great players, a great tournament needs great upsets - on that score this World Cup has delivered. Both finalists lost in group play - Argentina were sacked by Saudi Arabia and France were tuned up by Tunisia.

Saudi Arabia's Salem Al-Dawsari celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the World Cup group C soccer match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. Photo / AP

Away from the game, this World Cup has delivered a major breakthrough. Players have been more willing to address the big political issues of the day.

The shadow cast by the dead migrant workers stretched long over the desert. The Danish team arrived with an alternate strip coloured black, in memorial to those workers.

Modern footballers are not known for taking a stance on big issues of society and politics. But perhaps emboldened by the outrage around the dead workers and the simmering distaste about Qatar’s housing rights, athletes were unusually outspoken.

The Iranian players who did not sing their national anthem ahead of their first match showed remarkable bravery. The players’ actions were seen as a great show of support for protesters at home in a vital struggle against that country’s regime to secure greater rights for women.

The flags of Iran and the United States hang above the stadium during the World Cup group B soccer match between Iran and the United States at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Photo / AP

Yes, England captain Harry Kane (along with leaders of other sides) backed down on his plan to wear a rainbow-coloured armband in support of LGBTQ+ rights, after Fifa warned he would be yellow-carded. But at previous World Cups matters would be unlikely to have progressed even that far. And it’s hard to imagine players at any previous World Cup covering their mouths with their hands in a team photo, as the Germans did in protest at Fifa silencing them.

These are certainly baby steps on the path to meaningful political engagement from athletes. But watch how it grows at subsequent World Cups - including the Women’s World Cup on these shores next year. The next men’s tournament will be played in the USA, a land where the political and social landscape invites commentary. Things should kick off.